In 2023, marketers face slashed budgets due to a looming recession, discerning customers demanding more transparency, and an ever-evolving digital environment. The direct-to-consumer (DTC) landscape is changing, and reaching customers requires scrappy tactics and strategies to prioritize personalization, focus on data, and connect with customers.

To keep up with the growing challenges, marketers should keep an eye on these five trends this year.

1. Capture: Collect zero-party data

Stop relying on third-party platforms and analytics to understand your customers. Instead, own your customer relationships and drive DTC interactions that are compliant and transparent to gather zero-party data. Try QR, promotions, polls, quizzes, reviews, surveys, and more. Next, use that data to contextualize your digital customer experiences, such as emails, SMS campaigns, and promotions across messaging channels.

2. Communicate: Prioritize post-purchase engagement

Don't let a sale be your final interaction with a customer, especially through a third-party platform like Amazon or traditional brick-and-mortar retail. Find ways to incentivize shoppers after they've completed their purchase. Examples can include offers in their package, surveys on their experience, or using QR codes to foster contextual experiences that drive positive word-of-mouth leading to promotion redemption, email sign-ups, and reorders.

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3. Connect: Take advantage of QR codes

The need for omnichannel experiences, contextual-targeted marketing, and shortened attention spans are just a few of the reasons to implement QR codes into your overall marketing strategy in 2023.

QR codes create contextual marketing experiences directing customers to your brand's digital presence. Retail stores have immense reach for your brand. Include QR codes across physical packaging, in-store displays, event activations, window decals, and traditional advertisements (OOH, TV, print….) for customers to engage with your brand to drive relevant traffic.

4. Convert: Build a brand loyalty program

Successful brands foster customer loyalty. A surefire way to inspire it is through a loyalty program. In 2023, brand loyalty programs need to focus on personalization, offering relevant and thoughtful content that communicates your brand's and, as such, your customer's values.

Growing tech (e.g., QR codes) enables brands to personalize loyalty programs across the customer journey beyond point-of-sale. Also, loyalty programs built on trust are a compliant, ethical, and transparent way to gather customer data and insights for your marketing strategy.

5. Convince: Emphasize contextual marketing

Between social media, the internet, traditional marketing channels, and the ever-increasing number of screens in public, information overload is a part of your customer's daily life. Contextual marketing, tailored to your customer's interaction with your products, is vital to keep your brand memorable and relevant even with shrinking attention spans.

Customers now expect personalized experiences to grow that span across devices and channels. Contextual marketing forms deep customer relationships to provide shoppers with the right information at the right time, no matter where they are in their customer journey.

Utilize emerging tech like QR codes to promote contextual marketing. Zero in on customers' QR interaction to engage customers with highly relevant content optimized for conversions even if they're in the middle of the grocery store.

Digiphy makes physical-to-digital marketing easier in 2023

Digiphy activates physical products and marketing assets with QR codes to make contextual marketing easier. Our suite of flexible and highly customizable modular storytelling tools allows companies to create dynamic pages that rotate customer-loyalty programs, transparently communicate a brand’s unique story and values, accelerate reorders, and foster post-purchase engagement. This enables companies to connect directly with customers, capture zero-party data and valuable customer insights, and cultivate direct brand engagement.

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